The Last Dinner Party announce headline UK tour including a massive Manchester gig
A pretty big venue for a band that feel like they've been around for all of five minutes. Nothing short of huge for the newcomers. (this article contains affiliate links)
Rising stars The Last Dinner Party have announced a brand-new headline tour around the UK and Ireland in support of their debut album, including a truly massive Manchester gig.
One of the biggest up-and-coming names in the music world, having secured multiple festival slots and made their TV debuts on the likes of The Late Show and Graham Norton, The Last Dinner Party haven’t even put an album out yet but once they do, they’ll be embarking on their biggest run of shows to date.
With their debut record, Prelude To Ecstasy, set to release on Friday, 2 February, their rapidly growing fan base are already gagging to hear more and the album title will no doubt have lived up to its name as the band confirmed they will be playing a 16-date tour from late September to mid-October.
The London-based five-piece made sure to get Manchester on the list too, of course, scoring a gig at one of the city’s biggest and best venues: the legendary O2 Victoria Warehouse.
Charting with their hugely popular single ‘Nothing Matters’ and even working their way onto this year’s FIFA soundtrack (a huge honour in its own right, even if they have changed the name), the indie rockers are quickly becoming one of the most talked about artists going.
ADVERTISEMENT
Having also won BBC Radio 1’s Sound Of 2024 award, it’s actually little surprise they’ve already managed to earn themselves a spot at the 2,500+ venue and former Warehouse Project base.
The all-female and non-binary British lineup actually began back in 2021 but they only only started releasing music in April of 2023.
ADVERTISEMENT
Safe to say it’s been a whirlwind journey for them in less than a year on our radars. You can hear their latest single, ‘Caesar on a TV Screen’, here:
The Last Dinner Party last played to Manchester gig-goers at Academy 2 back in October 2023 to rave reviews.
Set to play Victoria Warehouse on Friday, 11 October, you can well and truly expect the Manc crowd to be well and truly up for it after months of getting their teeth stuck into the upcoming 13-track album.
Tickets for their gig here in Manchester go live on Friday, 9 February at 8am and we sincerely advise you to jump on them as quickly as possible as the buzz around this lot is so big that they’re going to absolutely fly.
Featured Images — Cal McIntyre/Press Images (supplied)
Audio
James Blunt announces huge Manchester gig on new European arena tour
Daisy Jackson
Singer-songwriter James Blunt is heading back out on tour next year, and has announced a massive Manchester gig as part of his run of arena shows.
The singer, perhaps best-known for his iconic 2005 pop ballad ‘You’re Beautiful’, is hitting the road again in 2027.
The newly-announced European tour is in celebration of his new album Airplane Mode, which is set for release this autumn.
James Blunt will kick off his tour in Leeds next spring, before heading over for a night at the almighty Co-op Live in Manchester.
Then he’ll head to more cities including Newcastle, Birmingham and London.
His new album, Airplane Mode, is being released on 6 November and will, according to his press release, be ‘exhilarating’.
James has already released the first single, ‘Tastes Like Summer’, and ‘Weight Of It All’, with 10 more songs to come on the record.
Airplane Mode was recorded with James’ brilliant long-standing live band, who’ll be back on tour with him next year.
Speaking of the new album, and recording in Pig Music Studios, he said: “Somewhere back there, I lost my way, but found it again in a studio in Banbury.”
James Blunt will be at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester on 3 April, 2027. Tickets go on sale from 10am on 9 September.
Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
Danny Jones -
29th January 2024 
